'The Flash' Season 6: Emotions aside, Barry's death in the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' makes complete sense
The upcoming mega Arrowverse crossover, 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' will see heroes die. And there are reasons for that. For now, what we do know is that Stephen Amell's' Oliver Queen and Grant Gustin's Barry Allen are destined to meet their maker. Barry's fate comes into question here. He dies in the comic version and his death will save billions.
The season 6 opener of 'The Flash' saw The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) be the bearer of bad news when he tells the Scarlet Speedster about the date of his vanishing. Originally set to occur in 2024, the events in the season 5 finale see the 'Crisis' move the immediate future giving Barry seven weeks from the date of his realization. In the second episode, Barry comes to terms that his death is the necessary sacrifice after he glimpses the bleak future.
'The Flash' has had a rich comic history and his arc ended with the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'. With the arrival of the Anti-Monitor, a cosmic entity wiping out the multiverse with his anti-matter cannon, the only hero with a sliver of a chance to prevent the cannon from decimating the universe was Barry, who runs faster than ever to stop the antimatter. The action ends with him being sucked off into the Speed Force. While his actions saved the universe, he didn't exactly end the multiverse-shattering battle.
It was more along the lines of Barry giving the other heroes time to stop the grave threat and should the Arrowverse take the same direction, it does make sense for Barry and Oliver to lay down their lives. Perhaps, it's Barry who goes first to give the rest of the superheroes a fighting chance. The character was revived in 2008 and until then it was understood that Barry had remained dead. Kid Flash took his place post the catastrophic event.
The TV version has looked at keeping the 'Crisis' as comic-accurate as possible, but changes do ring in and we are quite unsure if Barry will really die. For now, the multitude of heroes set to battle the Anti-Monitor, the grim tone of 'The Flash' and previous teases by showrunner Eric Wallace and Grant Gustin himself all point to Barry's imminent death. It does make sense to actually kill Barry. It may be a tough pill to swallow, but if it lends authenticity to the comic plot, then it should be done.
Only time will tell if the speedster will vanish or be alive and running.
What are your thoughts on Barry's death in the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'?
'The Flash' airs Tuesdays 8 pm on The CW.